tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55593373824339680552016-09-29T00:49:30.074-07:00Rover Masks at W&MSix students. Sixty-one masks. One semester.Francescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12806227813695147472noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-42541889121880134592011-05-09T21:44:00.001-07:002011-05-09T22:15:59.739-07:00The Cards<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eSA5WzJX3Ro/TcjC-FNB9OI/AAAAAAAAANY/099rJjT0pyk/s1600/entourage.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eSA5WzJX3Ro/TcjC-FNB9OI/AAAAAAAAANY/099rJjT0pyk/s400/entourage.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604944108067091682" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Angellica &amp; Her Entourage</span><br /></span></div><br />We decided early on that Angellica and her entourage should have a matching mask theme. Liz suggested card suits and I ran with the idea. It made so much sense to me.<br /><br />Angellica, the courtesan who's just fallen in love, is the Heart.<br />Moretta, the madame who's only concern is money, is the Diamond.<br />Biskey &amp; Sebastian, the muscle, are the very phallic Club and Spade.<br /><br />In addition to the fitting categorizations, the woman are the red suits and the men are the black.<br /><br />The card suit motif also gives a sense of festivity and games that makes sense for fun of Carnival.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sN2gh3VMgoM/TcjC6v-ul2I/AAAAAAAAANQ/scJc6URPkY8/s1600/closeup.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sN2gh3VMgoM/TcjC6v-ul2I/AAAAAAAAANQ/scJc6URPkY8/s400/closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604944050830350178" border="0" /></a><br />It was important that Angellica stood out from the rest, so I lined the hearts and the bottom of the mask with sequins and jewels, with a teardrop-shaped jewel at the bottom of the big heart. After all, an expensive courtesan ought to have some flair. There was originally some lace at the bottom edge of the mask as well, but it just looked like Angellica had a white mustache. Live and learn.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1H4V3-5RqnQ/TcjC2C5J4RI/AAAAAAAAANI/fSrRyyCQekY/s1600/midsize.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1H4V3-5RqnQ/TcjC2C5J4RI/AAAAAAAAANI/fSrRyyCQekY/s400/midsize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604943970007900434" border="0" /></a><br />Abby, one of the other mask-makers, was kind enough to do the highlight-and-shadow for me, since she's very talented in painting in subtle whites. I was very careful in the building of the mask to keep to playing card dimensions (which are 3.5" x 2.5", in case you were interested).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wXkbrNotGxQ/TcjCxZtRD-I/AAAAAAAAANA/Bv6XrC6L-BI/s1600/full%2Bsize.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wXkbrNotGxQ/TcjCxZtRD-I/AAAAAAAAANA/Bv6XrC6L-BI/s400/full%2Bsize.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604943890232709090" border="0" /></a>This photo in particular shows the triumph of the mask: the heart, the general card-shape, and the sparkle are recognizable from afar. And, for a theatrical mask, what else matters? I also like the beauty-mark look of the smaller heart.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xA-RdBbLhq0/TcjCrhR1k5I/AAAAAAAAAM4/NWIASlJWOO4/s1600/repose.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xA-RdBbLhq0/TcjCrhR1k5I/AAAAAAAAAM4/NWIASlJWOO4/s400/repose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604943789185930130" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Angellica the courtesan, played by the lovely Zoe Speas.</span><br /></span></div>Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16214152538602910886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-18722548292005289712011-05-09T21:00:00.000-07:002011-05-09T21:37:13.255-07:00Horny Men, updatedAs stated in an earlier post, one of the explicitly described "masker" groups in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Rover </span>is what we've come to call The Horny Men -- a pair of horned cuckolds with some curiously ambiguous dialogue surrounding them. I spent a lot of time wondering just what <span style="font-style: italic;">kind </span>of horns the masks should have. While I was in bed, post-tonsillectomy, I did some sketching.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PfqhCeVEyeM/Tci6t1d8_ZI/AAAAAAAAAMA/RRbMNFquDXo/s1600/IMG_1398.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PfqhCeVEyeM/Tci6t1d8_ZI/AAAAAAAAAMA/RRbMNFquDXo/s400/IMG_1398.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604935032872172946" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A combination of the bottom-middle and bottom-right were the winners.</span> </span></div><br />Next was the question of how I was even going to make the horns. Luckily for me, the Costume Goddesses, Tric &amp; Mary Jo, were willing to help me. They introduced me to a material called Wonderflex, which is an extruded thermoplastic composite sheet. The <a href="http://www.costuming.org/wonderflex.htm">Wonderflex </a>comes in sheets, you cut it into shapes, dip it into <span style="font-style: italic;">hot </span>water, and then shape the plastic in any configuration you want! The Wonderflex then hardens in that shape. It is indeed wonderful.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wH2N9Io34cQ/Tci8Ga8NKGI/AAAAAAAAAMI/NU_OfPT3_ag/s1600/IMG_1422.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wH2N9Io34cQ/Tci8Ga8NKGI/AAAAAAAAAMI/NU_OfPT3_ag/s400/IMG_1422.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604936554759661666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">See the sheet of Wonderflex in the bowl?</span><br /></span></div><br />I used a combination of <a href="http://www.amazinggoop.com/amazinggoop/index.html">Goop </a>and hot glue to connect the hardened horns to the Horny Men masks, which were made with black neoprene.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D3zVYIw4R2w/Tci-j7eNq2I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/4FY1PpN-wbQ/s1600/horny%2Bprogression.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 142px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-D3zVYIw4R2w/Tci-j7eNq2I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/4FY1PpN-wbQ/s400/horny%2Bprogression.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604939260731698018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Clay, raw neoprene, base coat, and highlight/shadowed.</span><br /></span></div><br />In addition, I put ribbons around the base of the horns to cover up the nasty, Goop-y seams.<br /><br />I'd gone through so much thought about what kind of horns to do, but the matter really came down to <span style="font-style: italic;">how </span>to make the horns, and how long I had to make them. Of course, I waited 'til nearly the last week to finish the horns, so it was a matter of getting it done and getting it done quickly. Thankfully, the Wonderflex worked beautifully.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the paint did not. The two Horny Men looked like martians with the bright green. (I'd been trying to compliment the olive green in the costumes.) Again, the Costume Goddesses and Liz, Our Fearless Director, had the answer: a mat wash. Ellie had a bottle of mat medium that I mixed with red paint and covered the entire masks. While the masks a splotchy red-green up-close, but onstage they look brownish-orange.<br /><br />Even better than the masks to convey the sexuality of these characters is, of course, the codpiece.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bv7f-LOfca8/Tci_6mfJghI/AAAAAAAAAMY/vF5nWHeGTBo/s1600/Horny%2BNathan.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bv7f-LOfca8/Tci_6mfJghI/AAAAAAAAAMY/vF5nWHeGTBo/s400/Horny%2BNathan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604940749747094034" border="0" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5hKQcFHtIN0/TcjAGwhklvI/AAAAAAAAAMo/sPuoOHHYKJI/s1600/Horny%2BRachel.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5hKQcFHtIN0/TcjAGwhklvI/AAAAAAAAAMo/sPuoOHHYKJI/s400/Horny%2BRachel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604940958600042226" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5hKQcFHtIN0/TcjAGwhklvI/AAAAAAAAAMo/sPuoOHHYKJI/s1600/Horny%2BRachel.jpg"><br /></a>Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16214152538602910886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-3685114186605696912011-05-09T18:53:00.000-07:002011-05-09T18:53:02.860-07:00Design Recap: Florinda's Beauty Mask<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QUXi5l5ov84/TciQ1C3vXEI/AAAAAAAAAB8/N1TLdTqa5FU/s640/226929_10150184167514168_508559167_6663790_699390_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="425" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Larissa Kruesi as Florida.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">&nbsp;This is the last mask I made for the show, the final week of rehearsals before tech rehearsals. The entire process only took me about 3 days from sculpting to the paint job, which is about half of the usual time it takes me to complete a mask. Liz wanted a simple Venetian beauty mask for Florinda in the second act. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LQbMU-ykG2c/TciTWKN_fBI/AAAAAAAAACE/RcKimELEc2I/s1600/carnival-masks.s600x600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LQbMU-ykG2c/TciTWKN_fBI/AAAAAAAAACE/RcKimELEc2I/s200/carnival-masks.s600x600.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I did some research on standard Carnivale masks (that is, non-character masks). They range from very minimalistic to incredibly elaborate/ornate. Because of the resources and time that each mask requires, I wanted to take the opportunity to attempt to create something unique for Florinda. I was really struck by these half-masks in gold. Inspired by these photos, adapting these design ideas for Florinda, giving her mask some more color and physical depth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pMlzaccZ1J0/TciR3E8fcxI/AAAAAAAAACA/o6-36kV1-Lo/s1600/venice-mask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pMlzaccZ1J0/TciR3E8fcxI/AAAAAAAAACA/o6-36kV1-Lo/s320/venice-mask.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GN2suDzHNB0/TciVFTNOy6I/AAAAAAAAACI/gcOTtNaMUrQ/s1600/fantastic_carnival_masks_12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GN2suDzHNB0/TciVFTNOy6I/AAAAAAAAACI/gcOTtNaMUrQ/s320/fantastic_carnival_masks_12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>The silver accents tie in the mask of her betrothed, Belville, who is a knight. On Belville's mask, you can see a bit of gold in his to compliment this. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SfRkma9ApGQ/TciXSJlkrhI/AAAAAAAAACQ/h6sn5_wbADA/s1600/SDC11910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SfRkma9ApGQ/TciXSJlkrhI/AAAAAAAAACQ/h6sn5_wbADA/s320/SDC11910.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />The ribbons were a last minute request from Liz. We needed to justify a line in the show that references Florinda's outlandish attire, which with her current costume and mask just did not make send. So, right before final dress, I glued these pretty ribbons onto the mask. The headdress not only adds body and glamor, but also echoes the crazy wig she wears in the opening. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bj85ebyI7w/TciZBSbyn0I/AAAAAAAAACU/xNTR0sjGvgE/s1600/222551_10150184171244168_508559167_6663883_1585658_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bj85ebyI7w/TciZBSbyn0I/AAAAAAAAACU/xNTR0sjGvgE/s320/222551_10150184171244168_508559167_6663883_1585658_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Florinda (Larissa Kruesi) and Me fooling around during the photo shoot.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;Then, every night of the show before Florina and Valeria enter, Valeria (I) re- hand-curl the ribbons to get them to lie like this.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LOAe6kD9yIQ/TciXMqZcMLI/AAAAAAAAACM/1I97V57KHe0/s1600/SDC11904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LOAe6kD9yIQ/TciXMqZcMLI/AAAAAAAAACM/1I97V57KHe0/s640/SDC11904.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Francescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12806227813695147472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-67398106643299472142011-05-09T18:06:00.000-07:002011-05-09T18:54:32.910-07:00Design Recap: Frederick<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-toIgX81VgHU/TchKmr4scLI/AAAAAAAAABs/qdzqP8-dtI0/s1600/222495_10150184169099168_508559167_6663833_899904_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-toIgX81VgHU/TchKmr4scLI/AAAAAAAAABs/qdzqP8-dtI0/s400/222495_10150184169099168_508559167_6663833_899904_n.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg Benson as Frederick</td></tr></tbody></table>This bad-ass dragon mask is for Frederick, the "third man" of Willmore and Belville's man possy, and wooer of Valeria. The idea was conceived with Liz in conjunction with the his male ensemble (Knight and Pirate) and his romantic interest, Valeria. I sculpted and painted this masks alongside of Valeria's Bird mask, in attempts to establish a similar shape and palette between the two. Dragons are deceptively difficult: it is very hard to create features that are distinctively "dragon" without the fire breathing (I tried very hard to avoid elements of the dog and lizard world). I based the basic shape off of some other successful examples of dragon masks. Other elements showed themselves as I worked in the clay: ears, horns, the strong jaw.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pWChpbJi_VA/TchSebIGYsI/AAAAAAAAABw/qNDM68RkcQ4/s1600/SDC11740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pWChpbJi_VA/TchSebIGYsI/AAAAAAAAABw/qNDM68RkcQ4/s320/SDC11740.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clay Molds.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qy1ld6uue0Y/TchSjKO7-aI/AAAAAAAAAB0/cOQ2XSdyanI/s1600/SDC11741.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qy1ld6uue0Y/TchSjKO7-aI/AAAAAAAAAB0/cOQ2XSdyanI/s320/SDC11741.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>For the tone of the mask, I wanted something that captured both a sense of danger and a sense of fun. The gold accents really add a sense of majesty. Even though this mask never appears onstage with Valeria's bird mask, the obviously are in the same family, and serves to tie them together.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jIqSGW21QIs/TchW5MjrUOI/AAAAAAAAAB4/ZE_Vu8FUQYY/s1600/SDC11928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jIqSGW21QIs/TchW5MjrUOI/AAAAAAAAAB4/ZE_Vu8FUQYY/s320/SDC11928.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Francescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12806227813695147472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-35622118068245013432011-05-09T12:56:00.000-07:002011-05-10T08:42:57.933-07:00Design Recap: Valeria's Bird<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MfiocC3PEpA/Tcg6wY-CBgI/AAAAAAAAABU/V6S0jrMs0e8/s1600/228179_10150184168059168_508559167_6663806_2691093_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MfiocC3PEpA/Tcg6wY-CBgI/AAAAAAAAABU/V6S0jrMs0e8/s400/228179_10150184168059168_508559167_6663806_2691093_n.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me modeling my Mask for Valeria.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uDWDXsv_QcA/TchGuc4MGHI/AAAAAAAAABo/RZmIHsCoLL8/s1600/225634_10150184168129168_508559167_6663808_884769_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uDWDXsv_QcA/TchGuc4MGHI/AAAAAAAAABo/RZmIHsCoLL8/s400/225634_10150184168129168_508559167_6663808_884769_n.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>&nbsp; <br /><br />For Valeria, Liz Wiley and I settled on the bird as her character animal. I think that this is the perfect choice, as many bird qualities apply to her: light, quick, flitting, and clever.<br /><br />Valeria is the plotter and manipulator of the The bird is the animal of the <i>Commedia dell 'Arte </i>zanni (or servant)character, Scapino, who functions in much the same way.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wiFjGUASkXY/TchDQ9HhZCI/AAAAAAAAABk/s30fpb4JrM8/s1600/Scapino250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wiFjGUASkXY/TchDQ9HhZCI/AAAAAAAAABk/s30fpb4JrM8/s400/Scapino250.JPG" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Etching of Scapino, the Commedia dell'Arte character.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Designing this mask was particularly rewarding for me, because I am also the actress playing Valeria. Being able to conceive of and craft the mask while I am building the performance was an amazing experience.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>When I first began sculpting, I was not sure what sort of bird this mask would ultimately be: perhaps some sort of rare exotic. As she progressed, it became clear that there was only one option: peacock.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fqBQG-Mgfgo/Tcg_u1ADOcI/AAAAAAAAABc/iIbH-oWBF9E/s1600/SDC11746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fqBQG-Mgfgo/Tcg_u1ADOcI/AAAAAAAAABc/iIbH-oWBF9E/s320/SDC11746.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clay mold.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8tZw_yuf2ts/TchB_GNBEtI/AAAAAAAAABg/4Ln7_yDFTvA/s1600/SDC11899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8tZw_yuf2ts/TchB_GNBEtI/AAAAAAAAABg/4Ln7_yDFTvA/s320/SDC11899.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Final Product.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />I used a peacock feather in my mixing of the color palette, and ultimately ended up attaching two to the mask itself, creating a fun head-dress element. The feathers jauntily swing back and forth as I run around (which I do a lot of onstage.)&nbsp; <br /><br />Valeria appears in this mask for a very fast-paced, physical vignette scene in which she is chased (by a pirate!), does some chasing, and sneaks into Belvile's house. The sharp shape of this mask, striking colors, and fun feathers all worked really well for this larger than life scenario.Francescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12806227813695147472noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-43744293276497443212011-05-09T10:36:00.000-07:002011-05-09T10:55:25.358-07:00Design Recap: WillmoreWhen we agreed on the various masks for the Englishmen we decided that we wanted to try and keep them thematically grouped with images traditionally associated with the British (Jester, Knight, Dragon) but there were quite a few other aspects with Willmore's character that were easy to emphasize via mask. To that end we settled on making Willmore a pirate. This gets the fun connection to Willmore being the "rover" as well as the extremely debauched attitude Willmore displays throughout the show. Finally, Willmore makes quite a few nautical references (the best being "Would I could drop anchor in your cove") so it was just another affirmation of making Willmore into a pirate.<br /><br />In planning out the design I spent a good deal of time in trying to figure out how best to communicate a pirate through a half mask. I looked into quite a few paintings/drawings of pirates, mostly of Blackbeard, though I also used a very well known modern example:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oHz0QpOE3ic/TcgoA5xXfjI/AAAAAAAAAB0/cBOg-xifJDU/s1600/depp-sparrow.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 285px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oHz0QpOE3ic/TcgoA5xXfjI/AAAAAAAAAB0/cBOg-xifJDU/s320/depp-sparrow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604773732235574834" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IYJiaXhRSj8/TcgoAkvqW8I/AAAAAAAAABs/Gz-qRTIXpIw/s1600/CaptainKiddsTreasure.gif"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7iHRIn1xfzY/TcgoAW0ZvgI/AAAAAAAAABk/CyGvH9fFwLI/s1600/blackbeard.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 232px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7iHRIn1xfzY/TcgoAW0ZvgI/AAAAAAAAABk/CyGvH9fFwLI/s320/blackbeard.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604773722853064194" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r48OEUgaMZQ/TcgoAcDpIvI/AAAAAAAAABc/l5Zmljmp4eM/s1600/article-1092372-02B6548D000005DC-688_468x386.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 264px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r48OEUgaMZQ/TcgoAcDpIvI/AAAAAAAAABc/l5Zmljmp4eM/s320/article-1092372-02B6548D000005DC-688_468x386.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604773724259164914" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HNXQPcjHaGw/Tcgoogvy5FI/AAAAAAAAAB8/1xX-Phm658U/s1600/CaptainKiddsTreasure.gif"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YM6r997DkYc/TcgpF5Ubn6I/AAAAAAAAACE/6mJhJqfX8eM/s1600/eyepatch-PiratesCarribbean9.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YM6r997DkYc/TcgpF5Ubn6I/AAAAAAAAACE/6mJhJqfX8eM/s320/eyepatch-PiratesCarribbean9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604774917525184418" border="0" /></a><br />The first thought I had was that there was no way I could feasibly include a pirate hat in the design, and that actually giving Willmore a pirate hat wouldn't work out too well. So, next I was drawn to the bandanna, definitely something that could be accomplished in a half mask. Finally, I really wanted to give Willmore an eye patch. It's a visual that immediately helps define him as a pirate. The one problem with the eye patch was that <span style="font-style: italic;">The Rover</span> is a show with lots of sword fighting, and putting an eye patch on someone wielding not one, but two swords is a safety fiasco waiting to happen. So I spent a good chunk of time figuring out a way to create the appearance of an eye patch on stage without actually obscuring Willmore's vision at all. In the end, I used two pieces of black lace sewn to the mask and it worked rather successfully. Here are some pictures of the sculpting process, as well as a final picture of the mask, on the actor with his costume:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5uGPl-5Q7Os/TcgqO2DJ5pI/AAAAAAAAACc/rP95dyjJNSY/s1600/IMG_0277.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5uGPl-5Q7Os/TcgqO2DJ5pI/AAAAAAAAACc/rP95dyjJNSY/s320/IMG_0277.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604776170777863826" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o6hFrNfKlsM/TcgqOl0PW7I/AAAAAAAAACU/g-0vfNg_S0A/s1600/IMG_0276.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o6hFrNfKlsM/TcgqOl0PW7I/AAAAAAAAACU/g-0vfNg_S0A/s320/IMG_0276.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604776166420339634" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jEHvgCeBGks/TcgqORM_19I/AAAAAAAAACM/PBciJpVlMnk/s1600/IMG_0275.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jEHvgCeBGks/TcgqORM_19I/AAAAAAAAACM/PBciJpVlMnk/s320/IMG_0275.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604776160887035858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-chDcN_8g3TE/TcgqO-NyKVI/AAAAAAAAACk/NdexrerHCac/s1600/Wilmore%2BMask%2B2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-chDcN_8g3TE/TcgqO-NyKVI/AAAAAAAAACk/NdexrerHCac/s320/Wilmore%2BMask%2B2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604776172969929042" border="0" /></a>Nicknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-62318247681055464472011-05-09T09:23:00.000-07:002011-05-09T10:01:36.500-07:00The Dons<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xUZhBwlBhvE/TcgZOBtKwkI/AAAAAAAAAAU/hkgr7MjDreM/s1600/DSC_0121.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xUZhBwlBhvE/TcgZOBtKwkI/AAAAAAAAAAU/hkgr7MjDreM/s320/DSC_0121.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604757465029329474" /></a><br /><a href="http://mexicanhistory.org/conquistador.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 202px; height: 375px;" src="http://mexicanhistory.org/conquistador.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />For the mask for Don Pedro, I began with images of Spanish conquistadors. I was inspired by the shape of their armor, especially the helmet. I used the basic shape of the helmet when sculpting the forehead of the mask. I also wanted the mask to reflect the overall mood of a conquistador's costume--brooding and confrontational. To achieve this, I decided to make the details of the mask less realistic and more exaggerated. I stylized the traditional shape of a brooding man. I focused on particular angles that one might view the mask. The mask is designed to be viewed from the side--not necessarily face-on. <div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I painted the mask for Don Pedro's henchman. I kept his mask in the same color scheme as Don Pedro's mask. They both have the subtle red accent on the inside of their eyes. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i8Tr5p89RWI/Tcga3f12QnI/AAAAAAAAAAk/xNHUP4iR4q4/s1600/DSC_0133.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i8Tr5p89RWI/Tcga3f12QnI/AAAAAAAAAAk/xNHUP4iR4q4/s200/DSC_0133.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604759277005062770" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 134px; height: 200px; " /></a> For Don Antonio's mask there wasn't a particular image that inspired me. I was inspired by the colors red and gold. I knew that I wanted to paint it red with gold accents. As I designed and sculpted it I thought about how I could accent the design with gold. I chose a symmetrical design for the mask to provide a blank canvas to paint on. I sculpted a coat of arms on the forehead to distinguish Don Antonio from the other characters because of his wealth and status. For Don Antonio's henchman, I painted his mask in the same color palette.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WG_qZTPD7fM/Tcgc4fi1rhI/AAAAAAAAAAs/5WlYzvp1dek/s320/DSC_0116.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604761493128457746" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></span></div>AMAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14109186047437809808noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-27074683680934584432011-05-07T19:02:00.000-07:002011-05-07T19:21:13.888-07:00Design Recap: BluntBlunt's mask was a whole lot of fun to approach. About a third of the way into the semester the mask team had a meeting to hash out any questions we had and settle on design ideas for the masks that were still up in the air. This came down to the British Cavaliers and some of the Spanish ladies' masks. I threw out the idea of Blunt being a Jester, got the ok and ran with it.<br />Given the way rehearsals had been shaping up it was very clear that Blunt's character was going to be pushed very far on the buffoon scale, so of course having him in a jester mask made a whole lot of sense. Not only could the jester easily communicate a large aspect of the character, but also fits very nicely into Venetian Carnival tradition. I did quite a bit of research into images of Venetian Jester masks:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lTtSE8mv5dk/TcX7Am4iFSI/AAAAAAAAAAk/OtE5M2UDBfw/s1600/jesterventian.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lTtSE8mv5dk/TcX7Am4iFSI/AAAAAAAAAAk/OtE5M2UDBfw/s320/jesterventian.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604161299188684066" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GjeVBvSEVYk/TcX7Av97GbI/AAAAAAAAAAc/isx5lkkr7cE/s1600/876JesterTricornoTarocchiUomo_reg.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 288px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GjeVBvSEVYk/TcX7Av97GbI/AAAAAAAAAAc/isx5lkkr7cE/s320/876JesterTricornoTarocchiUomo_reg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604161301627214258" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_qQONZoBR0E/TcX7AdbtjVI/AAAAAAAAAAU/Dx5VE5FCDh4/s1600/murano_venetian_masks_500new.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_qQONZoBR0E/TcX7AdbtjVI/AAAAAAAAAAU/Dx5VE5FCDh4/s320/murano_venetian_masks_500new.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604161296651881810" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DZ2srKtYZdc/TcX7AZP1QVI/AAAAAAAAAAM/_nEC6ioi7QQ/s1600/stock-photo--venetian-mask-of-smiling-joker-30625057.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DZ2srKtYZdc/TcX7AZP1QVI/AAAAAAAAAAM/_nEC6ioi7QQ/s320/stock-photo--venetian-mask-of-smiling-joker-30625057.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604161295528313170" border="0" /></a><br /><br />There are quite a few individual elements I took from each mask in designing Blunt. The biggest thing I kept in mind was that, while Blunt does have an attempted rape written into the script it was not going to be played in a threatening manner. So while many of the images I looked up were vaguely sinister, I didn't want Blunt's mask to be mainly sinister. For this reason I decided to break another seeming convention of the jester mask, symmetry of the facial features. In every image I looked at the jester's face was symmetrical, and that seemed to limit a lot of the range or variety of expression in the mask. Specifically, I took the general size of the jester cap I wanted from the second and fourth images. The first image provided a model for the raised eyebrow I wanted to use (not too sinister of course). The fourth image provided some nice examples of fun, plump cheeks. And finally, the third image provided the best way I saw to delineate the cap from the face of the jester, as well as very fun lip detail that I was hoping to incorporate.<br /><br />So as you will hopefully see in my series of sculpting pictures I played with asymmetrical facial features in order to give a wider range of possible expressions to the mask. (The process is in reverse order so you get a better idea of how it ended, don't want to keep you waiting!)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PWqcPrY5_p4/TcX8TqvhpEI/AAAAAAAAABM/NJd94ufDUgg/s1600/IMG_0274.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PWqcPrY5_p4/TcX8TqvhpEI/AAAAAAAAABM/NJd94ufDUgg/s320/IMG_0274.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604162726153790530" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CY158eraeow/TcX8TczKehI/AAAAAAAAABE/wLNIrAvFN-4/s1600/IMG_0268.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CY158eraeow/TcX8TczKehI/AAAAAAAAABE/wLNIrAvFN-4/s320/IMG_0268.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604162722410953234" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tBb5F2aNWnI/TcX8TOcs9oI/AAAAAAAAAA8/2rzgHaWO3xg/s1600/IMG_0262.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tBb5F2aNWnI/TcX8TOcs9oI/AAAAAAAAAA8/2rzgHaWO3xg/s320/IMG_0262.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604162718558647938" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dpSKDJc1hXY/TcX8S8jVhCI/AAAAAAAAAA0/-ln4UqzoCOo/s1600/IMG_0258.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dpSKDJc1hXY/TcX8S8jVhCI/AAAAAAAAAA0/-ln4UqzoCOo/s320/IMG_0258.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604162713754633250" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jjYrYwr1Fak/TcX8S0oBEWI/AAAAAAAAAAs/jU6I5EkyKQI/s1600/IMG_0256.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jjYrYwr1Fak/TcX8S0oBEWI/AAAAAAAAAAs/jU6I5EkyKQI/s320/IMG_0256.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604162711626781026" border="0" /></a><br />Of course, no mask is complete just sculpted. So You get one more picture, the final mask, paint job and costume worn by our actor who played Blunt (Kevin Place '11) :<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rtMxdCiWT7U/TcX9GP5vU6I/AAAAAAAAABU/rjuceS8h1gA/s1600/Blunt%2BMask%2B1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rtMxdCiWT7U/TcX9GP5vU6I/AAAAAAAAABU/rjuceS8h1gA/s320/Blunt%2BMask%2B1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5604163595122201506" border="0" /></a><br />Rather successful if I do say so myself.Nicknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-3069424394099418502011-02-01T17:36:00.000-08:002011-05-09T18:56:58.975-07:00The Horny Men<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUi1MeqB4tI/AAAAAAAAAKc/YzNAHDPngxk/s1600/sanding%2Bcloseup%2Bbanner%2Btext.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568900165236024018" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUi1MeqB4tI/AAAAAAAAAKc/YzNAHDPngxk/s400/sanding%2Bcloseup%2Bbanner%2Btext.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 200px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A new banner, just for fun. Ellie &amp; her very first fish.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I've been doing more pouring and Dremel'ing lately than sculpting...</span><br /></span></div><br />Only a few times does the "masquers" ensemble appear with specifically described masks in the text. One of those times is the following, in Act I, scene ii:<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">[</span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">Two Men drest all over with Horns of several sorts, making Grimaces at one another, with Papers pinn'd on their Backs, advance from the farther end of the Scene.</span><span style="font-size: 85%;">]</span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><b>BELVILE.</b> Oh the fantastical Rogues, how they are dress'd! 'tis a Satir against the whole Sex.</span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><b>WILLMORE.</b> Is this a Fruit that grows in this warm Country?</span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><b>BELVILE</b>. Yes: 'Tis pretty to see these Italian start, swell, and stab at the Word Cuckold, and yet stumble at Horns on every Threshold.</span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><b>WILLMORE.</b> See what's on their Back -- Flowers for every Night. [</span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">Reads.</span><span style="font-size: 85%;">] -- Ah Rogue! And more sweet than Roses of ev'ry Month! This is a Gardiner of Adam's own breeding.</span></div><div style="font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: times new roman; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 85%;">[</span><span style="font-size: 85%; font-style: italic;">They dance.</span><span style="font-size: 85%;">]</span></div><br />The Horny Men, as we've been calling them, are representatives of the cuckolds made by the revelries during carnival. We've just seen women dressed as courtesans go by ("Roses for every Month"), and now we see the results of women having fun during carnival: cuckolded husbands.<br /><br />I was intrigued by the challenge of making horns for a mask (TWO masks!), so I claimed the Horny Men for my first design for the show. But what horns to make? Liz wasn't entirely sure where she wanted to go with the Horny Men -- are they cuckolds? Or are they some other sort of revelers? Where to start? I decided to put together some research to show Liz.<br /><br />My main question: what kind of horns do cuckolds have?<br /><br />Answer: Eh, it depends.<br /><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Option 1: Ram Horns</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUn5VZI-1FI/AAAAAAAAAK8/EslLp9hZ4YQ/s1600/IMG_0756.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569256560141456466" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUn5VZI-1FI/AAAAAAAAAK8/EslLp9hZ4YQ/s400/IMG_0756.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 294px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Classical Greek satyr in dramatic scene</span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUn4UFnSm5I/AAAAAAAAAKk/tYD4u8fxZGg/s1600/curly%2Bcuckold%2Billustration.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569255438208375698" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUn4UFnSm5I/AAAAAAAAAKk/tYD4u8fxZGg/s400/curly%2Bcuckold%2Billustration.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 290px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">17th-century illustration with curled-type horns</span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUn5Yn_VQoI/AAAAAAAAALE/-fPj3im-N8A/s1600/Dimitri%2BVitte%2Bthe%2BCuckold.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569256615667122818" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUn5Yn_VQoI/AAAAAAAAALE/-fPj3im-N8A/s400/Dimitri%2BVitte%2Bthe%2BCuckold.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 386px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Prague sculptor, Dmitriy Vitte's, </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;">The Cuckold</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><br /></span></div><br />Ram horns as a representation of cuckoldry (or at least sexual desire) spans Greek drama to the Renaissance and even to the contemporary consciousness. There's also something about rams that seems to evoke sexuality more than other horns. Rather than just serving as a sign of cuckoldry, ram horns have a lasciviousness about them that could offer more to the director and actors than other types of horns.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Option 2: Stag Horns</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoDIo1hqFI/AAAAAAAAALM/8gg3gE8JnKg/s1600/1638%2BCuckold%2527s%2BHaven%2Bbroadsheet.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569267336132798546" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoDIo1hqFI/AAAAAAAAALM/8gg3gE8JnKg/s400/1638%2BCuckold%2527s%2BHaven%2Bbroadsheet.gif" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 353px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">A 1638 broadsheet, </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;">Cuckold's Haven</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Note the deer-like horns on the tavern's sign.</span><br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoDMsnxkUI/AAAAAAAAALU/vUut73fse5A/s1600/1815%2Bfrench%2Bsatire.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569267405868339522" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoDMsnxkUI/AAAAAAAAALU/vUut73fse5A/s400/1815%2Bfrench%2Bsatire.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">An 1815 French satire print.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Very long stag horns.</span><br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoDPik2ecI/AAAAAAAAALc/BZ3odWsRUjQ/s1600/1996%2Bemil%2Bkazaz%2BThe%2BCuckold.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569267454711331266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoDPik2ecI/AAAAAAAAALc/BZ3odWsRUjQ/s400/1996%2Bemil%2Bkazaz%2BThe%2BCuckold.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 301px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Emil Kazaz's </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;">The Cuckold (Room)</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">, 1996</span><br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoDTD0-etI/AAAAAAAAALk/uOoP1O-T0AQ/s1600/IMG_0758.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569267515176942290" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoDTD0-etI/AAAAAAAAALk/uOoP1O-T0AQ/s400/IMG_0758.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Silvia Karkut's </span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;">Gehörnter Ehemann</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> ("Horned Husband"), i.e. a cuckold, 2010.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I love the expression on this one. I'd be angry too if I were a cuckold.</span><br /></span></div><br />From the 17th-century to last year, we have depictions of cuckolds bearing <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cervine">cervine</a> horns. (How often do you get to say "cervine"?) It seems that deer horns are more traditionally specific to representations of the cuckold. However, stag horns would likely be difficult to construct and cumbersome to wear on a mask or headdress. In terms of practicality, it seems an unwise design choice.<br /><span style="font-size: 130%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Option 3: Devil Horns</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoKffaYU4I/AAAAAAAAALs/CwJiAyTjA5c/s1600/IMG_0765.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569275425321407362" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoKffaYU4I/AAAAAAAAALs/CwJiAyTjA5c/s400/IMG_0765.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 370px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"Diavolo" from </span><a href="http://www.visionsofvenice.com/" style="font-style: italic;">Visions of Venice</a><br /></span></div><br />While devil horns would move the Horny Men away from the image of cuckoldry and more towards something generally mischievous and lascivious. Also, our director, Liz, has considered presenting the Horny Men as homosexuals rather than cuckolds. Just before the Horny Men appear, we see a band of women dressed as courtesans -- an example of female deviance freed by carnival. What about male deviance? And it's specified that there are only two of the Horny Men, rather than a band of three (like the rose courtesans), so perhaps they could be lovers. Devil horns might lend themselves better to this image of sexual deviance than traditional cuckold horns.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoKkJtk6vI/AAAAAAAAAL0/MlLcHGa74Xw/s1600/IMG_0762.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569275505395690226" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TUoKkJtk6vI/AAAAAAAAAL0/MlLcHGa74Xw/s400/IMG_0762.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 345px;" /></a><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"Diavolo Grande", also from </span><a href="http://www.visionsofvenice.com/" style="font-style: italic;">Visions of Venice</a></span></div><br />While still devilish, these horns are a bit more elaborate -- and not as easy to construct. The smaller devil horns would be quite easy. The easiest of all options listed, likely. But these <span style="font-style: italic;">Diavolo Grande </span>horns are the most phallic of the group, which has its benefits.<br /><br />Things to consider: atmosphere created by the horns, traditional representations, and sexual deviance.<br /><br />The base of the mask has been made -- the neoprene poured and pulled, the mask trimmed and Dremel'ed. Now it just needs paint and horns, though if Liz decides that she wants larger horns the mask may need a separate headdress to hold the weight. The construction of the horns themselves has been put off until Liz decides exactly what she'd like from the interlude; it may bear waiting until rehearsal, to see what kind of physical movement the interlude requires. Can't very well have four-foot stag horns if the two actors are romping about the stage.<br /><br />Still many things to consider, but at least we have the research to work from. It's somewhere to start.Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16214152538602910886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-2922502350223331262011-01-18T17:52:00.000-08:002011-01-18T19:19:51.185-08:00Last Day Before Classes (i.e. a rough day)We should have been prepared for the idea that not everything would go exactly according to plan with every mask, but it was hard to come to grips with when it finally happened.<br /><br />The plague doctor masks that Francesca finished is for Act III, scene vi when Willmore injures Don Antonio, thinks he's killed him, and runs off. Our darling director, Prof. Wiley, has imagined that three plague doctors will converge upon the fallen Antonio, like vultures, to see if he's dead. The mask sculpture certainly felt vulture-like as we plastered it today. It was circling around our struggling efforts.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZV70IqF8I/AAAAAAAAAJ0/UnfnK3bCbiI/s1600/phallic%2Bplague%2Bdoc.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 178px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZV70IqF8I/AAAAAAAAAJ0/UnfnK3bCbiI/s400/phallic%2Bplague%2Bdoc.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563728875758426050" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The incredibly phallic progression of the plague doctor mask.</span></span><br /></div><br />Because the nose is over a foot tall, it took a lot of plaster to form the mold. ...A. Lot. Of. Plaster. And Francesca and I messed up the first batch of plaster because we tried to make too big of a batch all at once. It hardened before we could pour it. [Insert wordless noise of frustration]<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZWL9taCVI/AAAAAAAAAKE/SzaTs4-giV0/s1600/IMG_1225.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZWL9taCVI/AAAAAAAAAKE/SzaTs4-giV0/s400/IMG_1225.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563729153206389074" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Franny, prepping the plague doc for plastering.<br /><br /></span></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZWfmnTXSI/AAAAAAAAAKU/Jv84_kdguPI/s1600/IMG_1231.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZWfmnTXSI/AAAAAAAAAKU/Jv84_kdguPI/s400/IMG_1231.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563729490604154146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Franny &amp; Nick didn't forget the soap!<br /></span></span></div><br />The second try went better, but it took an entire bag of plaster to make the mold. <span style="font-style: italic;">An entire bag</span>. And over an hour (and exhausting hour) of mixing and pouring. I'm not sure a mask of this size was worked into the budget. Usually we can get two or three molds out of a single bag, though this was certainly not a usual mask.<br /><br />I'm not sure we figured making mistakes into the budget either.<br /><br />Just to add to the day's frustrations, the mold of Ellie's star mask she did today came out with a bunch of air holes. It's going to need lots of patching. SIGH.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZVyRfQroI/AAAAAAAAAJs/BITPHFwnIb8/s1600/ellie%2Bstar%2Bprogression.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 178px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZVyRfQroI/AAAAAAAAAJs/BITPHFwnIb8/s400/ellie%2Bstar%2Bprogression.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563728711839166082" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The progression of Ellie's star mask. Gorgeous!</span></span><br /></div><br />And, in addition to everything, we had to clean up Room 222, where we've been working, to prepare for classes tomorrow, as well as clean up the cabinet corner.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZWYL7DBtI/AAAAAAAAAKM/6uZEQG0drhw/s1600/IMG_1227.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZWYL7DBtI/AAAAAAAAAKM/6uZEQG0drhw/s400/IMG_1227.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563729363180127954" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">It's clean now. I promise.</span></span><br /></div><br />Thankfully, Prof. Matt Allar stepped up to help us out in our lack of space by offering us the shelves where the fall semester scenic painting class usually stores their materials. Also, hopefully, we'll be able to use one of the dressing rooms as a workspace as soon as Sinfonicron vacates.<br /><br />On a happy note, we have gotten a lot done. We have all three Columbinas and all SIX fish.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZWA2tYebI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/AY3uc7M0EOM/s1600/IMG_1216.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTZWA2tYebI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/AY3uc7M0EOM/s400/IMG_1216.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563728962348677554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Fishes, Columbinas, neoprene trimmings, oh my!</span></span><br /></div><br />We also have neoprene drying for one of Ellie's nuns, one of my Horny Men, and one of my playing card masks. I'll pull those tomorrow morning. But since we've reached not only a breaking point in our schedule (i.e. the beginning of classes), but also a break in our to-do list (i.e. all the ensemble sculpting is done), we'll probably organize some sort of meeting in the next few days to discuss how we'll proceed.<br /><br />Farewell, pre-classes intensive session! It's been fun!<br /><br />P.S. I'll post about my research for the Horny Men soon! Stay tuned!Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16214152538602910886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-21621699124941955372011-01-18T10:29:00.000-08:002011-05-09T18:57:33.816-07:00The Plague DoctorThe only thing more obscure and solitary, or obscurely solitary, than blogging is probably maskmaking. Except for maybe medeival plague doctoring.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXbHjmeL9I/AAAAAAAAAAM/BA8NDTndRr8/s1600/plague+dr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXbHjmeL9I/AAAAAAAAAAM/BA8NDTndRr8/s320/plague+dr.jpg" width="245" /></a></div><br /><br />The plague doctors, or the <i>Medico Della Peste</i>, were the unlucky, usually unsuccessful doctors that found themselves treating those sick with the plague, bubonic or otherwise. <br /><br />It is important to know that, because of their constant exposure to disease, these plague doctors were generally social outcasts, spending a large chunk of their life in quarantine.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Nota Bene:</div><div style="text-align: center;">Nostradamas was famous for his plague doctoring. His most brilliant piece of medical advice for not contracting the plague was to leave town.</div><br />Everything about the plague doctor costume was designed for maximum plague protection. It was believed that the plague was carried by birds, so the shape of the mask seems to derive from an they-who-giveth-also-taketh-away assumption. In this beak, the physicians placed various herbs and spices to mask the smell of the dying, rotting, barfing, ect. Crystal covered the eyeholes, giving the impression of spectacles.<br /><br />The visual result of all these protections is really menacing. The Plague Doctor became a popular character in Venetian Carnival, celebrating <i>Memento Mori, </i>or "Remember you will die."<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXbP-rwMkI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/xrriT6SPwPA/s1600/plague8.cool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXbP-rwMkI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/xrriT6SPwPA/s320/plague8.cool.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />Here are some examples of modern plague doctor masks I found in this summer in Venice.<br /><br />The first one is very traditional, and the second a more artistic interpretation.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXdUZMglgI/AAAAAAAAAAc/gf9HZys7bIs/s1600/SDC11630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXdUZMglgI/AAAAAAAAAAc/gf9HZys7bIs/s320/SDC11630.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXdYSXY7nI/AAAAAAAAAAg/KPaCX8xXM0I/s1600/SDC11676.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXdYSXY7nI/AAAAAAAAAAg/KPaCX8xXM0I/s320/SDC11676.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br />Our doctor was a group effort. Hayley began with a rolled-newspaper base to support our clay beak, Nick constructed the basic outline of the mask from clay, and I finished it up, bringing its features to a theatrical level. Rather than a standard plague doctor, I chose to give it an accentuated expression, trying to translate human elements of the original wearers into the mask. It is important to look at a mask from all different vantage points. The dramatic nature of this mask's beak, looking from the front and the side, demonstrates how a mask can shift expression based on angle.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXbeWnVZzI/AAAAAAAAAAU/6ixJ1Ndb8Kw/s1600/photo-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXbeWnVZzI/AAAAAAAAAAU/6ixJ1Ndb8Kw/s320/photo-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXbgsv3luI/AAAAAAAAAAY/Sx9ZKkLJb7E/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bzdy7WMwFug/TTXbgsv3luI/AAAAAAAAAAY/Sx9ZKkLJb7E/s320/photo.jpg" width="240" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp; </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;UPDATE: The Final Products.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The final masks ended being this interesting mix of adorable and creepy, depending on the angle viewed and also the body language of the performer. Their paint job is very traditional, white, and incorporating the black spectacles to protect the eyes from the plague. I however, used shadow and highlight to suggest more human features, such as a brow, and to accentuate the eyes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SgZXbO5GI5Y/Tcg6IqR4OtI/AAAAAAAAABM/f8J8qO6cQa4/s1600/227944_10150184168409168_508559167_6663815_3085846_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SgZXbO5GI5Y/Tcg6IqR4OtI/AAAAAAAAABM/f8J8qO6cQa4/s320/227944_10150184168409168_508559167_6663815_3085846_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">For the production, the Plague Doctors had their moment in the spotlight in a transition, in which they waddled out in long black robes and medicial probes, and proceeded to check the audience for diseases.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nkRb4Ny8LVo/Tcg6NGud5JI/AAAAAAAAABQ/hAkdg10CQu8/s1600/225959_10150184168349168_508559167_6663814_1896239_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nkRb4Ny8LVo/Tcg6NGud5JI/AAAAAAAAABQ/hAkdg10CQu8/s320/225959_10150184168349168_508559167_6663814_1896239_n.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Francescahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12806227813695147472noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-13354112589109022042011-01-14T19:39:00.000-08:002011-01-14T21:34:34.584-08:00Pre-Class Intensive: Day 2 & 3My fingers. Are so. Cold.<br /><br />Seriously, they're like pale little popsicles. January is not a good time of year for mask-making. The plaster has to be done outside because it's so messy, but half-way through mixing the plaster -- with your bare hands, mind you -- you're pretty sure your fingers are going to snap off. Icy, icy fingers.<br /><br />But I'm getting ahead of myself. Where did we last leave off? Sculpting! Right.<br /><br />Thursday. Sculpting of the Horny Man and the Nun: DONE.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEZy9WeAPI/AAAAAAAAAIc/y8Xmay_4Xp0/s1600/IMG_1200.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEZy9WeAPI/AAAAAAAAAIc/y8Xmay_4Xp0/s400/IMG_1200.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562255378032230642" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Horny Men will each have three horns attached externally;<br /></span> <span style="font-style: italic;">trying to sculpt horns would not go well.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />The weird eyebrows are problematic enough.</span></span><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEZsw6D5VI/AAAAAAAAAIU/CavPUB93Zog/s1600/IMG_1198.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEZsw6D5VI/AAAAAAAAAIU/CavPUB93Zog/s400/IMG_1198.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562255271612638546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Had to take side pictures. Just look at those noses!<br />The Nun masks will have painted-on eyes, like in Swiss carnivals.<br />The actual eye-holes will be cut just beneath the painted eyes.<br />It'll be super cool. </span></span></div><br />Next? Pour plaster over the sculptures. Between Ellie and I, we remembered all of the steps in preparing and pouring the plaster, and it did indeed take both of us to remember. However, we're both majoring in artistic fields, therefore we can't do math. We nearly filled my entire bucket before we managed to fix our initial mistake of pouring the wrong ratio of plaster to water (which is 2:1, by the way -- good to put that in writing). And it still wasn't quite enough to cover both of our full-face masks. It takes a lot of plaster to do full-face masks. And we froze. FROZE. It's so cold outside.<br /><br />While waiting for the plaster to dry, what comes next? That's what is crazy about doing this pre-classes, intensive session. We do a step, and don't have classes and homework to run off to (yet). We do a step, and then go on to the next step. CRAZY.<br /><br />Since we're going to use a few of the plaster molds from last semester's class for some of the ensemble masks, we decided to pour some neoprene in those preexisting molds: Ellie's fish mask and Francesca's Columbina mask. Outside. Freezing. (Have I mentioned that it was cold outside?)<br /><br />After the neoprene pour, Ellie and I broke to divide and conquer. She's working on paper-mache gargoyle masks. Originally we planned on making two duplicates of Nick's gargoyle mask from class (we kept his mold, along with a few others), but Ellie's enthusiastic about designing new gargoyles for that interlude. But since we hadn't figured new gargoyles into the budget, we're doing those with paper-mache.<br /><br />Speaking of the budget, that's one of the things I did when we divided: walked over to the Charles Center to turn in our undergraduate research proposal so we can get funding for this project. Cross your fingers! We could really use this money. ...Like, really. Plaster and neoprene is expensive.<br /><br />Next:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEif0YGfVI/AAAAAAAAAIk/6i-FHy0kisQ/s1600/IMG_1201.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEif0YGfVI/AAAAAAAAAIk/6i-FHy0kisQ/s400/IMG_1201.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562264944810294610" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">And try doing it with frozen fingers.</span> </span></div><br />Have an aneurysm, trying to pull the face-positive-plus-clay-sculpture out of the plaster mold. Why is it always SO HARD? God, that was the hardest part of the process in class, and it's the hardest part even now. What did I learn from pulling these positives? MORE SOAP. (Soap. Yes, liquid soap to pour over the sculpture before pouring on the plaster. It's lubricant and it's VITAL.) I need to remember to use more soap.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEkrlqsZTI/AAAAAAAAAIs/Y6BDW1OA6Ag/s1600/IMG_1202.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEkrlqsZTI/AAAAAAAAAIs/Y6BDW1OA6Ag/s400/IMG_1202.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562267346043430194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The battlefield.</span><br /></span></div><br />Plaster molds for two masks done, neoprene for two other masks poured. PRODUCTIVITY. Cold, icy productivity.<br /><br />Actually, the weather was going to be a problem for the neoprene, since the liquid neoprene is freezable, and 20-degree temperatures were forecast for Thursday night. And drying the neoprene has such a specific timetable that it was going to have to be overnight. (Pour, wait 2-4 hours, pour out the excess, wait 8-12 hours, peel the dried mask. It's specific.) So, after pouring out the excess, the plaster molds with the drying neoprene had to be taken inside.<br /><br />But where inside? There is nowhere inside. Room 222 (where we've been sculpting out of the cold) is upstairs, plaster molds are heavy, and we can't make too much of a mess up there. The design lab is freezing and usually locked. That leaves...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEmqC9idmI/AAAAAAAAAI0/-rqUbvRREAI/s1600/IMG_1203.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEmqC9idmI/AAAAAAAAAI0/-rqUbvRREAI/s400/IMG_1203.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562269518570616418" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Super high-tech... hallway... facility for drying neoprene.</span> </span></div><br />That's right. The mini hallway outside the Studio Theatre, just outside the entrance to the scene shop, by the cabinets where we've been storing our materials. That's how we roll. Put down some butcher paper, instant work space.<br /><br />Despite FREEZING, it was a productive day. Finished sculpting, poured plaster, pulled clay out of plaster, poured neoprene, poured MORE neoprene-- it was productive.<br /><br />That was Thursday. How about Friday?<br /><br />Friday began with pulling the raw masks from the plaster mold.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEpCG4PTcI/AAAAAAAAAJM/Bgwnbiwa8oI/s1600/IMG_1205.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEpCG4PTcI/AAAAAAAAAJM/Bgwnbiwa8oI/s400/IMG_1205.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562272130962247106" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Raw masks. Creepy plastic goiter-fringe and all.</span><br /></span></div><br />Franny's Columbina and Ellie's Fish! Love it. Pouring, scheduling, and peeling the neoprene is probably my favorite part of the process because, after that (fairly simple, if not lengthy) step, you get the beginnings of the actual mask. It's the first time that you have the mask itself in your hands.<br /><br />After pulling the neoprene and pouring the next batch (because Columbinas and Fish only travel in groups), I inadvertently stabbed myself several times with an xacto knife as I tried to trim the edges of the raw masks. Ow. But after that comes the Dremel, which is a magical, magical tool. All those ragged edges left by one's bloody xacto knife? Miraculously made smooth by the glorious of the Dremel.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTErVWKki8I/AAAAAAAAAJU/mQA31-nU1W0/s1600/IMG_1210.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTErVWKki8I/AAAAAAAAAJU/mQA31-nU1W0/s400/IMG_1210.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562274660506438594" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Fish Mask looks even more alien from the back.</span><br /></span></div><br />Paint the back of the mask black, and... next?<br /><br />Waiting to peel the next round of Columbinas and Fish, I prodded Prof. Liz with a question she was probably not expecting: NEXT? "Go forth and sculpt!" she said. I'm paraphrasing that. So I began my next sculpture:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEshXk_pyI/AAAAAAAAAJc/V5r77SVdUvc/s1600/IMG_1206.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEshXk_pyI/AAAAAAAAAJc/V5r77SVdUvc/s400/IMG_1206.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562275966555760418" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Yes, it's simple and small, </span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />but the dimensions were carefully measured </span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />and the paint-job/decorations will Make It</span> </span></div><br />It's specifically sized to look like a playing card. There will be four, one for each suit. It'll be lots of fun to paint and decorate. And then, because I was STILL waiting for neoprene to dry, I poured plaster over the mask -- though less plaster, since it's a half-mask.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEs4MS8mQI/AAAAAAAAAJk/Th6X8aeBMRw/s1600/IMG_1209.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TTEs4MS8mQI/AAAAAAAAAJk/Th6X8aeBMRw/s400/IMG_1209.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562276358664263938" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Saved plaster, </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">but still trying to figure out how </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">to pour neoprene without spilling</span><br /></span></div><br />Of course I forgot the soap. HOW DID I FORGET THE SOAP? (Because Ellie wasn't there to remind me, obviously.) Wasn't too bad. Fingernails, wooden sculpting tools, and dental tools -- eventually got all the clay out, or at least as much as I was willing to scrape out with my bloody, xacto'd fingers. But I had time to scrape clay, because I was waiting for neoprene to dry.<br /><br />Around 9pm, the neoprene was finally dry enough to peel, so I could peel, clean up, and go home. (Didn't pour any neoprene for an overnight drying tonight, though. It can wait 'til tomorrow.)<br /><br />The Horny Man and Nun plaster molds might be dry enough to pour tomorrow, so maybe that's the next, next step. It takes about two days for plaster to be ready.<br /><br />Well, there's still more Fish Masks to pour too. (Seriously, we need six of those. SIX.)<br /><br />Time to put some ointment on my fingers, go to bed, and dream of more masks.Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16214152538602910886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-10992322716188565502011-01-12T21:44:00.000-08:002011-01-12T22:28:21.283-08:00Stop talking! Start sculpting!Because we realize that there won't be much time to devote to masks as soon as classes (and the upcoming production of <span style="font-style: italic;">Rhinoceros</span>) begin, Fearless Leader Ellie and your humble author returned to Williamsburg early to do as much work as we can in the week we have before the first day of classes. Dorms aren't even open, but the two of us (and our dear professor, Liz) are huddled up in PBK Hall, freezing and getting covered in clay. Being theatre people, we could talk about Our Plans endlessly, but we soon acknowledged we needed to JUST START. Dig our hands into the bucket of clay and get dirty.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TS6Sfk-A2AI/AAAAAAAAAIE/NsYfCRjE4tU/s1600/day%2B1%2Bboth%2Bsculpting.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TS6Sfk-A2AI/AAAAAAAAAIE/NsYfCRjE4tU/s400/day%2B1%2Bboth%2Bsculpting.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561543661046519810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ellie of the pink hair and I, hard at work.</span> </span></div><br />Aren't the paint jumpsuits super sexy? (And by "sexy" I mean "ridiculous".) It was just so cold in the design lab that we put them on for extra warmth. Protecting our clothes from stray bits of clay was just a bonus. Eventually we admitted that it was just too cold to work in the design lab, so we moved upstairs to Room 222. We laid down a tarp, covered a table in butcher paper, and got messy. The first batch of clay was way too wet -- like trying to build with mud -- but the second batch was much better. We need to figure out how to dry out that first clay a bit; we can't afford not to use it.<br /><br />So what are we working on? Well, because we're hesitant to work on masks for the principal characters before the show is cast, we're focusing on the ensemble "masquers" for now. I'm working on a mask for the Horny Men (literally, horny -- as in with horns) that appear in Act I scene ii, and Ellie's working on a mask for the nuns of an opening sequence in Hellena's convent. Because most of the horns for the Horny Men will be external pieces attached later -- possibly carved out of furniture foam -- the mask itself will be fairly simple, except for some extravagant eyebrows. Ellie's nun mask is much more fun: pointy nose, bulging cheeks, and almost no chin. Very funny in its caricature of severity. I'll take pieces of the sculptures tomorrow.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TS6U7sqEVzI/AAAAAAAAAIM/kz9nko3dIE8/s1600/day%2B1%2Bellie%2Bsculpting.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TS6U7sqEVzI/AAAAAAAAAIM/kz9nko3dIE8/s400/day%2B1%2Bellie%2Bsculpting.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561546343169939250" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Ellie and the beginnings of her nun.</span><br /></span></div><br />Ellie's so good at leaping right into the sculpting process; I tend to dilly-dally with base layers of clay before getting to the distinctive features (and like to use words like "dilly-dally"), but this is definitely Ellie's strength, the sculpting process. My strength is really just my enthusiasm. I'm not particularly talented when it comes to artistic pursuits, but I love to plan and design and create paperwork. It's the planning and organizing that gets me excited. I may post some of my charts later. (Not as exciting as photos, I know, but <span style="font-style: italic;">I </span>think they're exciting.)<br /><br />Well, that's all for now. If we're lucky and work particularly hard tomorrow, we might finish our sculptures soon and get to pouring the plaster. Though I'm not sure we even have any leftover plaster. That would be a problem. Money to buy supplies for this project is a general problem all around that we're having to contend with. More on that later.<br /><br />Time for bed. Ellie and I have a long day of sculpting ahead tomorrow. Good night!<br /><br />Oh, and P.S. We're currently sharing PBK Hall with <a href="http://sinfonicron.tk/">Sinfonicron Light Opera Company</a>, which is currently working on an upcoming production of Gilbert and Sullivan's <span style="font-style: italic;">Patience </span>(probably my favorite G&amp;S operetta, so I'm very excited). Come out and see the show!Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16214152538602910886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-15143129613841448912011-01-11T11:11:00.000-08:002011-01-12T21:42:43.691-08:00For your amusement......O Gentle Reader, I submit to you:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvqvi5fPiI/AAAAAAAAAHk/BOVurMiwQI8/s1600/jeremy%2Birons%2Brover%2B1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 269px; height: 336px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvqvi5fPiI/AAAAAAAAAHk/BOVurMiwQI8/s400/jeremy%2Birons%2Brover%2B1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560796267461688866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Image courtesy of </span><a href="http://www.jeremy-irons.com/stage/main.html">Live On Stage</a></span><br /></div><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000460/">Jeremy Irons</a> in the Royal Shakespeare Company's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Rover</span> in 1986.<br /><br />I find this somewhere in the realm between "awesome" and "hilarious" -- you decide the exact location.<br /><br />Yes, this has nothing to do with mask-making, but it IS <span style="font-style: italic;">The Rover</span>, and it IS awesome/hilarious, and therefore is related to our mask-making. Obviously. Vaguely. Somewhat.<br /><br />D'aww, isn't he dreamy? (Notice how they just can't bear to cover his fresh and adorable 30-something-year-old face. He even has roguish facial hair. Swoon!)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvrw3jt2fI/AAAAAAAAAHs/e_UyKFf-7wg/s1600/jeremy%2Birons%2Brover%2B2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 139px; height: 299px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvrw3jt2fI/AAAAAAAAAHs/e_UyKFf-7wg/s400/jeremy%2Birons%2Brover%2B2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560797389699013106" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Also from </span><a href="http://www.jeremy-irons.com/stage/main.html">Live On Stage</a></span><br /></div><br />That is all.Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16214152538602910886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5559337382433968055.post-53911483361136347962011-01-10T18:51:00.000-08:002011-01-10T19:01:16.678-08:00In the beginning, there was neoprene<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" id="internal-source-marker_0.2507154649447003">If we’re to document the process of our team’s designing and constructing these fifty-some-odd masks for this spring’s production of </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Rover</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> at the College of William &amp; Mary, I suppose it would be best to start, O Gentle Reader, with where we first learned the basics of making neoprene masks.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It all began with an intensive seminar which lasted three weeks, from August to September, led by guest artist Vivian Appler and Prof. Liz Wiley (the </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rover </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">director). For three weeks, we (I think there was a dozen of us in the class) spent at least an hour of every day on our masks, though -- dear lord -- it was never just an hour. Each student completed two masks, which meant that the long, multi-step process of making a single mask had to be done in about a week and a half. The first mask took about two whole weeks, leaving the second mask to be done in just one week, but any task is easier the second time around. I digress. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When I say “multi-step,” I’m not kidding. Let me detail those steps.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvGs-uYy0I/AAAAAAAAAGk/fjnOWZ-P5Qg/s1600/1st%2Bsteps.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvGs-uYy0I/AAAAAAAAAGk/fjnOWZ-P5Qg/s400/1st%2Bsteps.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560756640973114178" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" id="internal-source-marker_0.2507154649447003"><br />Step 1. Each student had a mold made of his or her face out of plaster strips to be used as the first negative -- with the help of a partner, of course. That way, the masks made using the resulting positive (step 2) should fit that student’s face. It was very eerie to lie on the floor with one’s eyes closed, having one’s face slowly covered by cold, wet strips of a coarse fabric that slowly hardened and heated. It was somewhat like being buried alive, or wrapped up like a mummy.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 2. The plaster-strip negatives of our faces were then filled with Hydrocal, a white gypsum cement (sorry, no pictures, my hands were full). The cement-filled negatives had to be held for several minutes while they dried enough to be able to sit on their own, and, yes, they were as heavy as the adjective “cement-filled” would suggest. Thankfully this process only had to be done once, since we would use the Hydrocal positive for both masks. Hydrocal is so durable that a Hydrocal positive will last for years. Vivian’s being using the same positive of her face for thirteen years and counting! But, geez, are they heavy. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 3. Sculpting! We built clay sculptures on top of our Hydrocal positives to make the faces looked like how we wanted our masks to look. On the left, Francesca is in the first stages of her sculpting, just piling on clay into the general shapes of the features of her mask. On the right is Ellie’s finished fish mask-sculpture.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 4. The sculptures (which are positives) were then covered in plaster and left to dry for about 45 minutes, shaped up into those creepy-alien-egg-looking things. The inside of a plaster mold will be a negative of the mask-sculpture. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvG32cOGYI/AAAAAAAAAGs/aShZxob8CRc/s1600/2nd%2Bsteps.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvG32cOGYI/AAAAAAAAAGs/aShZxob8CRc/s400/2nd%2Bsteps.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560756827727993218" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" id="internal-source-marker_0.2507154649447003">Step 5. After that 45 minutes, the Hydrocal-and-clay positive is pulled out of the plaster negative. The trick of this, as some of us learned the hard way, is to put plenty of clay around the base of the sculpture so that it pulls easily out of the negative. With my first mask, I had not done this. For several, </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">several</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> hours, I chipped away at the plaster that had leaked under my sculpture, trapping the edges inside. Eventually I used a screw driver and hammer like a chisel, and that worked quite well, though I vowed to never let that happen again. (Pictured is our mask guru, Vivian, assisting with the chiseling, using an old butter knife. Yeah, our tools are high-tech.)</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 6. When the positive is pulled out, the clay of the sculpture is usually left behind inside the negative, so has to be peeled out. Pictured is Prof. Wiley’s positive and negative. All of her clay came off the Hydrocal positive, though that demonstrates how the negative is formed by the features of the sculpture.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 7. The clay is peeled out, exposing the clean negative of the clay sculpture. Pictured is my “He’s Very Concerned” mask negative, clay-free. See the forehead wrinkles?</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 8. Liquid neoprene is poured into the plaster negative. While this step is easy, it takes the most time, because the drying of the neoprene has a very specific schedule. Pictured here is when the negative is completely filled. That’s left to dry for about two hours. After that, the excess neoprene is poured back into the container, using a strainer to keep out the oogie bits. What’s left inside the negative (after the excess is poured out) is a layer of neoprene about a quarter of an inch thick, which will be the raw mask.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 9. The plaster negative is turned negative-side-down and propped up so that the neoprene that’s still liquid-y drains out (and thus doesn’t collect and solidify in the noses or chins, disrupting the weight-balance of the mask). That’s left to dry from eight to twelve hours. So, while this step is easy because the materials just need to be left alone, it takes lots of time and has to be carefully scheduled so that the neoprene doesn’t get too thick or too hard. How we usually scheduled the steps is to pour mid-morning, pour out the excess around lunchtime, and return for Step 10 that night. (We felt very sketchy hanging out in the theatre building loading dock at 9pm!)</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvG_K1-oTI/AAAAAAAAAG0/aAEfSAMccnk/s1600/3rd%2Bsteps.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvG_K1-oTI/AAAAAAAAAG0/aAEfSAMccnk/s400/3rd%2Bsteps.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560756953463824690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" id="internal-source-marker_0.2507154649447003"><br />Step 10. The dried neoprene is peeled out of the plaster negative, creating the raw mask (a positive to that negative). At that stage, the neoprene is still kind of floppy, so the peeling is pretty easy, though noses are somewhat of a challenge if they’re particularly long. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 11. The raw mask is completely extracted from the plaster negative! Yay! Pictured is my “He’s Very Concerned” mask. See how the positive and negative are mirrors of each other?</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 12. Trim away the excess around the edges, and create eye and nose holes (and mouth holes, if desired). Mat knifes or x-acto knifes are good for this. Also, though not pictured, we used a Dremel to sand the mask smooth, particularly the edges of the eye holes. Dremels are magical tools.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvHFdJcS6I/AAAAAAAAAG8/2MWzYoE0W1Y/s1600/4th%2Bsteps.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_glxrglGOs7E/TSvHFdJcS6I/AAAAAAAAAG8/2MWzYoE0W1Y/s400/4th%2Bsteps.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560757061456513954" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" id="internal-source-marker_0.2507154649447003">We’re almost done, I swear...</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 13. The back of the mask is painted black. I’m not exactly sure why. Something about light not shining through, I think, though don’t quote me on that.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 14. Give the mask (the front, this time) a base coat, though the base coat doesn’t come through the final paint job as much as you’d think, as demonstrated by the 14 &amp; 15 pictures.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 15. Add highlights and shadows. By far the most challenging part of the process for us who are challenged with paintbrushes. For my first mask, I actually used a flashlight to see how actual shadows were made by the mask’s features. (See how almost none of the base coat is visible? Told you. It’s all about the highlight-and-shadowing.)</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Step 16. Perform with your mask! Trust me, when you have a finished mask, you can’t help but put it on. We did improv performances with the masks we made, each performing with another student’s mask so we could see our own mask being performed. It was a great experience. Pictured is Prof. Wiley modeling her own second mask, being adorable. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That was the three-week seminar. Crazy, huh? After all that, one might wonder why any of us wanted to do </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">more</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> of this, but it was actually a lot of fun. In my case, making masks was one of the few creative things I’ve been able to do in the theatre department, being mostly involved in stage management (not a very creative field), so the process was very exciting and gratifying for me. Everyone needs creative outlets, particularly us theatre kids. Thus, most of the class was eager to do more of this. Which brings us to </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Rover</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">...</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In April, the College of William &amp; Mary theatre department will be producing Aphra Behn’s </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Rover</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, a seventeenth-century play that takes place during the Naples carnival (hence the need for many, many masks). A good chunk of the class applied to be part of the mask-making team for the show, and six of us were selected. The </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rover </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">mask-making team.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve looked at the calendar and looked at the play breakdown charts, and it comes to about forty-seven masks that need to be made in a six-week period so that the masks will be ready for rehearsal. (And we thought two masks per student in three weeks was bad. Ha!)</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Times New Roman; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This will be an extraordinary experience. It seems fit to document it.</span>Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16214152538602910886noreply@blogger.com0